NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Monday, June 16, 2025 (#736)
Puzzle #736. Start with a gentle nudge and work down — the full answers are at the bottom, hidden until you ask for them.
Just tell me the answer
The NYT Connections answer for Monday, June 16, 2025 (puzzle #736) is: YELLOW — EXPRESSIONLESS: BLANK, FLAT, INANIMATE, WOODEN. GREEN — DRAPERY HANGING ITEMS: BRACKET, CURTAIN, HOOK, ROD. BLUE — WHAT A DRINK IS SERVED WITH: COASTER, GARNISH, GLASS, STRAW. PURPLE — STARTING WITH METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION: BUSBOY, CARBON, SHIPSHAPE, TRAINEE.
Today's 16 words
The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Monday, June 16, 2025. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.
SHIPSHAPE
INANIMATE
CARBON
ROD
GLASS
WOODEN
BRACKET
GARNISH
BUSBOY
TRAINEE
FLAT
STRAW
BLANK
HOOK
COASTER
CURTAIN
How hard is Connections #736?
Easy30/100
• Four clean, meaning-based categories with little overlap.
Where to start: Every category here is meaning-based, so group by topic first and use the four-per-group constraint to settle any word that could go two ways.
Connections hints for Monday, June 16, 2025
Four levels, each giving away a little more. Open only as many as you need.
yellow(the most straightforward group — start here) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — the category is a single word beginning with "E".
green(a little trickier, but still direct) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — think about items.
blue(where the misdirection usually starts) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — think about served.
purple(the wordplay group, and almost always the last to fall) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — think about transportation.
yellow4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
green4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
blue4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
purple4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
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Common questions
What is the NYT Connections answer for Monday, June 16, 2025?
The NYT Connections answer for Monday, June 16, 2025 (puzzle #736) is: YELLOW — EXPRESSIONLESS: BLANK, FLAT, INANIMATE, WOODEN. GREEN — DRAPERY HANGING ITEMS: BRACKET, CURTAIN, HOOK, ROD. BLUE — WHAT A DRINK IS SERVED WITH: COASTER, GARNISH, GLASS, STRAW. PURPLE — STARTING WITH METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION: BUSBOY, CARBON, SHIPSHAPE, TRAINEE.
What is the purple group in Connections #736?
The purple (hardest) group is "STARTING WITH METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION": BUSBOY, CARBON, SHIPSHAPE, TRAINEE.
What is the easiest group in today's Connections puzzle?
The yellow group is the most straightforward: "EXPRESSIONLESS" — BLANK, FLAT, INANIMATE, WOODEN. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.
What number is today's Connections puzzle?
Monday, June 16, 2025 is NYT Connections puzzle #736. Connections launched on 12 June 2023 with puzzle #1, and a new puzzle is published every day.
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle come out?
A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own local time zone, so the changeover happens at a different moment around the world. The puzzle itself is the same for everyone on a given date.